Brand-New Series 1

When Topps released Brand-New Series 1 in October 2012, it brought an end to a five-year drought of fresh material that had lingered since the seventh All-New Series closed out in 2007. The release sat as the twenty-sixth series in the line's broader history, marking only the second time a Garbage Pail Kids set had been built around a 110-card base checklist, dividing its run into fifty-five paired numberings from 1a through 55b. The creative lineup mixed old hands with fresh talent under art director Colin Walton, who drew on gag concepts supplied by Dave Gross, Joe Simko, Jeff Zapata, and Neil Camera. Veteran illustrators Tom Bunk and James Warhola returned to paint finished pieces, sharing duties with Layron DeJarnette, Brent Engstrom, Mark Pingitore, and JungHwa Im, who became the line's first female freelance painter after earlier work on Wacky Packages.

Topps distributed the cards across several distinct retail channels, producing eight different wrapper printings found across rack packs, 24-pack hobby boxes, retail peg packs, 16-pack retail boxes, and bonus boxes. For those opening standard boxes, collation meant a collector could assemble roughly 1.38 complete base sets if pack collation held up cleanly. The set also introduced a new brown puzzle border to the backs of the stickers, while the printed checklists came framed and titled in blue, giving the kids' first names an emphatic bold treatment.

The base checklist offered a full roster of oddities, introducing characters such as Picky NICKY, Ear BUD, Sushi SETH, Sawing SAL, NATE Inflate, Balloony BART, STEVE Rotters, and CALVIN America. The cards also referenced the creative team, with artist Brent Engstrom depicted on Bearded BRENT and Layron DeJarnette appearing as Super MANNY. In a slight departure from standard naming practice, two forenames did double duty across the print run, as Smoothed SALLY shared a moniker with Snotty SALLY, and Super MANNY mirrored the bonus card He-MANNY. There were no card variations to hunt in the base run.

Insert sets included ten Mix 'N' Match sheets, ten Loco Motion cards animated by Neil Camera, and a ten-card Adam Bomb Through History run illustrated digitally by Mark Pingitore, which had its own green, silver, and gold tiers.